Over 1 Million Kids Using Sports Supplements

Over 1.2 million American adolescents are taking supplements for sports performance, with multivitamins, fish oil and creatine the most popular, suggests a news survey.

Data from National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) indicated that about 1.6% of adolescents with an average age of 10.8 report taking supplements specifically for sports performance.

According to findings published in The Journal of Primary Prevention , 95% of these supplement users took a multivitamin and/or mineral combination, while 44% took omega-3s, 34% took creatine, and 26% took fiber or psyllium.

Creatine concern

Led by Will Evans, Jr., from the Texas Chiropractic College in Pasadena, the researchers voice their concern over the use of creatine: “The vast majority of research on creatine has been conducted in a laboratory setting with male athletes aged at least 18 years, and there is scant clinical research on a healthy athletic population under the age of 18,” they explained.

“This is concerning given the findings in this sample that the mean age of those reporting any supplement use for sport performance is just under 11 years. This seems relatively young to be reporting anything to enhance sport performance but could be a sign of marketing efforts and more children entering sports at earlier ages.

“One has to ponder the potential for future use of more dangerous substances as well, if use of any supplement is occurring at 11 years of age.”

Performance advantage?

Commenting independently on the survey’s findings, Michael Bergeron, PhD, FACSM, executive director of the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute told NutraIngredients-USA: “Even in adults, there’s little to no evidence that supplements, vitamins and minerals have a performance advantage, except in the rare cases where there is a documented deficiency.

“Why would we think these would work with kids, whose physiological demands and capacity are far less?

“The main point is that the thinking is wrong. Supplements should not be the “Band-aid” for overscheduling and a misguided emphasis on early success. Parents, coaches and young athletes should be focusing on a long-term, natural development approach: plenty of rest, good diet, adequate hydration and having fun. This recipe will go a long way toward enhancing a young athlete’s performance and health,” added Dr Bergeron.

“Of course, it’s questionable science to ask parents whether any single supplement—or a combination—has actually enhanced performance. Without measuring performance and having a randomized, valid, direct comparison to a no-supplement condition, how could they know? The data here are based on recollection, which is likely to be faulty.”

Survey data

Analysis of a secondary data set from NHIS provided 9,417 records. “This resulted in a national population estimate of over 73.7 million children,” explained the Dr Evans and his co-workers. “About 1.2 million (1.64%) children or adolescents reported using some sort of dietary supplements (herbs, mineral, or vitamins) specifically to enhance sport performance, with about the same percentage (1.65%) noting an improvement in sports performances within the past 30 days of implementing the NHIS.”

The data also revealed that the boys were more likely than girls to take supplements for sports performance, and there was greater usage among Whites, and children living with both parents.

“Pediatric and other health groups have warned of the dangers of this population taking supplements for sport performance, and this should not be taken lightly,” concluded the researchers.

The sports nutrition market is booming in the US. According to the Nutrition Business Journal, dietary supplements for sport-specific and weight loss usage are worth almost $23 billion.

Source: The Journal of Primary Prevention
Volume 33, Number 1, Pages 3-12, DOI: 10.1007/s10935-012-0261-4
“Dietary Supplement Use by Children and Adolescents in the United States to Enhance Sport Performance: Results of the National Health Interview Survey”
Authors: M.Will. Evans, H. Ndetan, M. Perko, R. Williams, C. Walker

The article isn't about kids consuming creatine, vits, etc. from natural sources but consuming it as a supplement, which kids of 11 most definitely don't need and shouldn't be encouraged to do. The amount of creatine in meat is negligible, which is why supp companies sell it in powder form.

I don't know dude 11 is a little young... Especially for sports performance.

We get a lot less creatine in meat than supplementing with it...

Did you see what they are citing as "sports performance?" Fish oil, multivitamins, etc and creatine. REALLY?? I was taking multivitamins from about 5 years old on. Hell they even have chewy flintstones ones for kids. Multivitamins are not for "sports performance" they are part of a healthy life. No matter how health concious you are it is very very hard to get appropriate amounts of vitamins and minerals solely from diet.

I also see nothing wrong with creatine at any age, it is one of the MOST studied substances with no short or long term negative effects.

This makes me mad... multivitamins and fish oil should not be considered "sports supplements" and they're taking an alarmist tone about it. Creatine I almost sorta get - it's a little ridiculous, but parents give their kids Flinstone vitamins, now is that going to be considered performance enhancement as well?

The mean age is certainly interesting; being under 11. I agree that multivitamins and fish oil certainly aren't "performance enhancing" but since when did kids that age start taking fish oil? I don't think it's bad for them by any stretch, but it's not necessary, either. As for the creatine, I remember the first time I bought some and my mom went off and said I'd end up with kidney damage, etc. And I was 18 (I also didn't end up taking any of it).

I haven't seen any marketing toward kids with this stuff. I'd imagine that multivitamins and fish oil is courtesy of parents or the kids ask and the parents say yes, because again, there's no reason not to (even though it's not necessary to have, either).

As for the creatine and anything else, I'd venture to guess it's kids knowing older brothers or kids older in school and just going based off of that. Either way, while creatine certainly isn't necessary, I'd wager to guess it's not dangerous, either. I'd be more concerned about the 16 year olds that are getting designer steroid/pro-hormone pills from idiots when the kids even ask if it's safe. That's a far bigger problem/concern.

Did you see what they are citing as "sports performance?" Fish oil, multivitamins, etc and creatine. REALLY?? I was taking multivitamins from about 5 years old on. Hell they even have chewy flintstones ones for kids. Multivitamins are not for "sports performance" they are part of a healthy life. No matter how health concious you are it is very very hard to get appropriate amounts of vitamins and minerals solely from diet.

I also see nothing wrong with creatine at any age, it is one of the MOST studied substances with no short or long term negative effects.

Easy buddy... I was taking about the creatine. I see no problem with kids taking multis. Creatine however is another story IMO

Crazy. My 2 older sons (13 &amp; 16) have gotten bigger and stronger by working out hard, eating lots of meat, veggies and potatoes and drinking tons of milk (although I don't like dairy much as a protein source).

Kids should learn diet first, training second and supps a distant third.

Crazy. My 2 older sons (13 & 16) have gotten bigger and stronger by working out hard, eating lots of meat, veggies and potatoes and drinking tons of milk (although I don't like dairy much as a protein source).

Kids should learn diet first, training second and supps a distant third.

One thing people are not bringing up is that kids tend to eat a lot of junk. My girls get whole food multis and vit d along with protein powder and also low sugar protein bars. Keeps them away from junk as much as possible